Nonscald steam garment press



Sept. 9, 1970 J. LAscARl 3,530,602

NONSCALD STEAM GARMENT PRESS F iled March 26, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JOSEPH LASCARI INVENTOR.

BY {Karl Toss ATTORNEY Sept. 29, 1970 J. LASCARI NONSCALD STEAM GARMENT PRESS Filed March 26, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fl-G.8

FIG.3

m IT mm w CV mm L g JOSEPH ATTORNEY United States Patent Oflice 3,530,602 NONSCALD STEAM GARMENT PRESS Joseph Lascari, Manhasset, N.Y., assignor to American {183120 Inc., Garden City, N.Y., a corporation of Filed Mar. 26, 1969, Ser. No. 810,463 Int. Cl. D06f 71/34 US. Cl. 38--16 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In order to prevent the operator of a steam garment press from being scalded, the press is provided with an annular suction channel or tube "which lies along the edge of the pressing surfaces of buck and head in a closed position of the press and intercepts and aspirates the steam emitted from between these surfaces. A suction pump or blower is attached to this channel and is only actuated when steam is admitted to the garment positioned between the surfaces.

My invention relates to steam garment presses and, more particularly, to such a press which is provided with nonscald safety means for the operators protection.

Steam garment presses are, at best, hazardous pieces of equipment. They generate a great deal of heat and have a multitude of exposed, very hot parts. A particular hazard arising in dual-platen garment presses, having a stationary buck mounted on a support and a pivotal pressing head engageable with the buck, is that live steam under high pressure is passed through the garment being pressed between the pressing surfaces and part of this steam is released outwardly around the periphery of the pressing surfaces, thereby raising the danger of scalding for the operator.

It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to eliminate this danger of scalding in presses of the character described.

A more particular object is to provide a means of attaining this principal object which is simple and does not hinder normal operation of the press.

' Another object is to provide such a means which can be easily and simply installed on an existing press.

I attain these and other objects, in accordance with the invention, by providing an elongated aspirating channel that extends at least along the side of the press turned toward the operator and lies in the path of steam released from between the platens to intercept same. A suction device is connected to this channel for aspirating the released steam.

The channel, according to a further feature of my invention, can be embodied as an annular tube running entirely around the press platens which are here a conventional steam-pressing buck and head. The suction device can include, as a suction source, the pump already built into the garment press and used to suck air in through the just-pressed garment to dry same, or it can be an auxiliary pump. In either case, I activate the suction device, or couple it to the channel through a valve, during the stage of the pressing when an actuating means causes live steam to be admitted into the buck and head.

The channel itself can further be formed with a plurality of round or rectangular perforations, or with a single longitudinal slot through which the air and steam are aspirated.

My invention has the advantages that the relatively simple channel rapidly, completely and accurately draws in the steam emitted, often with quite some force, from between the head and the buck without otherwise hinder- 3,530,602 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 ing operation of the presses. It has neither the bulkiness nor the weight of a hood which has been proposed heretofore to enclose the head, nor does it involve time consuming and large capital expenditure for installation. The device is inexpensive to manufacture and mount, and can even be mounted on existing machinery with little diificulty. The present system also removes ambient and latent heat from the pressing room to provide added comfort to the operator.

These and other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a nonscald garment press embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the press of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic section of the press of FIG. 1 along the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are front views of three embodiments of the suction channel according to my invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the suction channel of this invention; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are sectional views through further garment presses according to my invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, a garment press has a stand 1 and a table 5 forming, with a pillar 6, a support for a lower platen or steam-pressing buck 2. Engageable wlth this buck 2 is a second, pivotal platen or pressing head 3 mounted on two arms 7 pivoted at 7a (FIG. 3). The buck 2 and the head are of similar elongated shape and covered with fabric according to methods well known in the art and not comprising part of the present invention.

A pedal 9a controls admission of live steam into the interface between the two closed platens 2 and 3. A similar pedal 9b controls the application of suction to the garment whereby air is drawn in through the platens 2 and 3 to dry and cool the fabric. Thus, in normal operation, the unpressed garment is laid on the open buck 2, then the head 3 closed over it by a pull on a handle 8, then the pedal 9a is actuated to steam the garment, the other pedal 9b is next operated to partially dry and cool the pressed garment by sucking outside air in through it, and finally the head 3 is lifted and the pressed garment removed.

The press here illustrated is further fitted with an annular tube or channel 4 which follows the general outlines of the platens 2 and 3 and completely surrounds them. While it is only strictly necessary to provide this channel 4 on the front or operator side of the press, it has been found advantageous and most desirable to continue it all the way around in an annular configuration conforming to the outline of buck and head.

As best shown in FIG. 4, the tube 4 is provided with a multitude of small holes 11 which are inwardly, and slightly upwardly directed towards a curved interface I between the pressing surfaces of the buck 2 and the head 3. Thus the tube 4 and especially the holes 11 lie directly in the slightly downward path of any steam released from the interface 1 between the platens 2 and 3. This tube is supported by small legs or bars 4b on the stationary buck 2. A conduit 4a connects the tube 4 through a valve 12 to a pump 10. This valve 12 is advantageously coupled to the pedal 9a which controls the admission of live steam to the buck 2 and head 3 so that the tube 4 is only really under reduced or negative pressure when a danger of being scalded by steam is present. The pump 10 can be a separate unitas is the case when the tube 4 is built onto an existing pressor as here shown, it can be the pump 10 normally coupled wtih the pedal 9b used to draw or aspirate air in through the buck 2 to dry a freshly pressed garment.

Instead of the circular holes 11 as shown in FIG. 4, the tube 4 can be built as a tube 4' with rectangular, longitudinally extending slots 11 or as a tube 4" with a single, full-length slot 11". What is most important is that these holes 11, slots 11', or slot 11" be directed toward and into the path of steam emitted from between two press platents. FIG. 7 shows a tube 12 with a single full-length slot 14 flanked by inwardly flared elongated lips 13. Such an embodiment serves particularly well to trap escaping steam.

FIG. 8 shows a press similar to that of FIG. 1 except that a flat interface 1' is formed between a buck 2' and head 3 and the tube 4 is mounted on legs 4b that stand on the table 5. Here, since the interface IA is Yat, the tube 4 is mounted on the same level as the edge of the press with the holes 11 directed horizontally inward in the plane thereof. From FIG. 9, it can be seen that a tube 104 and a tube 204 may be mounted on the head 103 and on the buck 102 and connected to the suction pump 110.

I claim:

1. A nonscald steam garment press, comprising a stationary support, a steam-pressing buck mounted on said support and having a periphery lying substantially in a plane, a steam-pressing head having a face engageable with said buck and confronting same while being provided with a periphery lying substantially in another plane parallel to the first-mentioned plane, said buck and said head being relatively movable between an open-press position and a closed-press position wherein steam is released about the peripheries of said buck and said head, a re- 4- spective annular channel extending around each of said peripheries and conforming to the configuration of said buck and said head, each of said channels being provided with at least one longitudinally extending intake slot lying substantially in the plane of the respective periphery and defining a steam and air gathering means extending all around said buck and said head, respectively, said slot having a width constituting a small fraction of the width of said channels, duct means connected to said channels for establishing fluid communication therewith, and suction means connected to said duct means for drawing steam intercepted thereby in through said slots.

2. The press defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said channels is formed with a pair of lips flanking the respective slot and diverging in the direction of said face.

3. The press defined in claim 1 wherein each of said channels is formed with a single continuous slot extending around the entire periphery of the head and the buck, respectively.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,105,530 7/1914 Palmer 3816 1,640,351 8/1927 Dorsey 38-15 1,667,826 5/1928 Schremp 38-16 1,876,277 9/1932 Davis 38-16 2,499,006 2/1950 Seuff 3816 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner 

